Noob Diver in SC

[Debby Smith]

Greetings and salutations to all from South Carolina, USA. I have just begun my adventure in diving in Feb. I hope y'all don't tell me I am not cut out to dive, because I love it so much already. I know I am going to have to work very hard on my skills, I don't seem to do any of them without really having to concentrate on them. Here's a stupid question.
I have a knee injury that makes kneeling difficult if not impossible for me to do without causing me considerable pain. The pool I am taking lessons in is 5 ft. we are to gather on the bottom on our knees and practice mask clearing and regulator exchange ect. Most of all practice bouyancy control. By the time I actually could remain on the bottom my knee cramped and I had to surface, I had missed the mask clearing techniques, and regulator drop and pick-up techniques. I was so exhausted from struggling to get on my knees and remain on the bottom of the pool I used almost all my 2,000 psi in my clylinder, I know I was stressed out to boot, when the instructor pointed at me to remove my mask I really freaked.
I would have been fine if I could have just sat on the bottom on my butt, but I don't know if I could have done all the moves of sweeping my arm to the side to recover my secondary, and been as agile as the folks who were on their knees. Is there still hope for me?

 

[whitlockca]

Hey Debby

I had some trouble with my skills at first too, but the biggest thing for me was to just stay calm. When i finally learned to stay calm i was able to focus on the skill and just do it ... and use a lot less air!!

What part of SC are you from? I dive a lot in the upstate.

chris

 

[Debby Smith]

Heya Chris!! Nice to meet another diver in SC!! My hubby was certified out 6mos ago and has been addicted to diving ever since. I snorkled abit on our Carribean cruise and I knew I would have to learn Scuba because snorkling just didn't cut it.
I Know I must learn to relax and enjoy, I will as soon as I can "do the basics" without contorting like a pretzel and using all my air trying to do them. We're in a little town near Clarks Hill called Plum Branch, and dive near the dam in the lake. Hubby trained diving in the Savannah River and the lake. Hopefully we'll find the quarry near Columbia for some fun and dives.
Thanks for your advice, I will keep it in mind always.

 

[crd_kats]

Hi Debby and welcome. Do you think your instructor would allow you to sit, instead of kneel?

Remember: diving should be fun, not painful.

 

[MJH1280]

Debby...welcome.

I am taking scuba classes at the moment as well. I freaked out the first few times when I was doing the mask clearing. I kept blowing out my mouth instead of my nose and would panic. I had to tell myself that as long as I am still breathing I am okay. That helped the following week when all the exercises were performed in the deep end of the pool. As long as you take your time and stay calm you'll be fine. Doing the exercises in the deep is much easier. My advice: stay calm, cool, and collected. Most of the exercises aren't about speed.

 

[CoachSteve]

Hey Debbie, I think you should ask the instructor about sitting down, and explain the issues. maybe they will understand.

I am in atlanta, and have been able to dive 1 time in SC. Lake Jocassee. it was a nice dive, and a great day t be in the water. it is only a couple hour drive for me so if you guys ever make it out there, I will be more than happy to get wet. I am still learning so you would hvae to be patient with me.

 

[Debby Smith]

My dive class is a bit intimdating to me. I think I am the only one who is a total novice, the others are just taking refreshing course, returning to diving after a few years away and such. They all seem to just zip right through drills without a problem, and I feel like a total IDIOT.

 

[whitlockca]

Debby

I know pretty close where you are there. My aunt and uncle own a house on Clark's Hill close to Hickory Knob State Park.

 

[Debby Smith]

I guess I just don't play well with others. I spent a couple hours at the pool yesterday, and I did manage to do quite a few things I couldn't do in class. I had mych better bouyancy control and cleared my mask a few times without too much problem, I did actually hover around the bottom and actually swim, something I couldn't do with others in the class near-by.
I guess it's a thing I grew-up with I never could shake off, in groups I really suck, alone or small groups (2-3)others I am ok, more than that I get really freaked out. But I will get better.
Headed back to the pool this AM. Practice, practice, practice!!!
Hey your relatives live in my backyard dude!! How cool is that?!?!
peace
Deb

 

[flyfishscubadive]

Debby, welcome to the SB. You will find lots of great info here, and there are a lot of wonderful folks, too. It sounds to me as if you signed up for a class with a group of people. It would be a little more expensive, but you should consider getting private lessons. Just you and the instructor, one-on-one. This sport is like learning to play music. Master one step and move on to the next. If you never master one of the steps, then there is always the possibility that you will be faced with a serious issue at some point on one of your dives in the future.

Case in point - I, too, was sketchy with clearing my mask. I kept working on it on my own and with my instructor until I felt really comfortable with it. I would even flood my mask from time to time while diving just to clear it properly.

On my last dive, my mask was all but ripped off at one point. Had I not instantly remembered my training, I could have easily panicked.

Go back and reseach my previous posts, and you will see how I made myself understand how to breathe when diving. To paraphrase, "Blow out a candle".

As far as your knees go - Dear, there is an organization for disabled soldiers. If these folks can dive with their limitations, then consider yourself a shoo-in. Just get some GOOD one-on-one instruction!

ENJOY!!

JR